The Path of Fate
by Cr8zeCorbinFangirl
Summary: An AU of GAIM Episode 13, where instead of Pierre showing up, the Mysterious Girl warns Baron against attacking civilians.
1. Chapter 1

This was created for two reasons - one being that I really like the whole Kaito/Mai 'We're the only ones who really remember Zawame before Yggdrasil' thing. And then also - the hell Kaito? Why are you attacking civilians? I get you're bitter about the whole 'Get out of _our_ city' thing, but seriously.

And so...this.

I MAY update eventually (because I have multiple story ideas about how to make the two of them fall in love) but that depends on whether or not I really want to (hint hint - review review - hint hint)

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><p>The city was on the verge of hell. However, if you asked Kaito, it was always on teetering on that verge – just waiting for the right powder keg to spill over. So he ignored it (simple enough.) If the boys felt like dancing at the new Raid Wild venue, he'd go along with it. It was theirs, after all. Why not put it to good use?<p>

Of course, other people didn't see it that way.

"Sure are fewer people at South Stage, ne?" Zack piped up at a turn, and Kaito had to agree with him. Since Hase had become Kurokage, Raid Wild's stage was nearly up there with Baron and Gaim. And then there was Baron's fanbase. Guess it had to be a really bad day.

"There they are!" A voice called out clear and loud – much older than their average fan. "I saw them on the internet!" Kaito stopped dancing in curiosity and the team slowly followed after. Three adults were approaching the stage rapidly and – how could Kaito put this?

They looked _pissed_.

"Those kids were controlling the monsters!" The eldest adult – a grandfather, most likely – shouted out.

"It's all your fault my child is hurt." The man to his left snapped.

_In the grand scheme of things, it's your precious Yggdrasil that's responsible for the Invess. But you wouldn't believe that, now would you?_ Kaito sighed, rolling his eyes. "What do you guys want from us?"

"Give us back our city! Get out!" The woman shrieked.

_Your city? Far as I know, this is _my_ city, outsider._ Kaito raged on the inside. This was nobody's city but his own. But of course, this was all on the inside. "Oh?" He replied. Absentmindedly, he strolled along the steps. "But, we took this stage with our own hard work." He tucked his hand in his back pocket. "If you want to chase us away, then..." In his fingers, he clicked open the Lock Seed and he locked it in place. The armor covered him and as always, the power surged through his veins.

He pulled open three locks and the correlating Invess surrounded him like henchmen. "Now, let's see who's the stronger one." The adults stumbled back, shaking in their boots. Kaito sighed. "What a bunch of cowards."

_Baron..._

It was a familiar voice...a voice he hadn't heard in a long time, but thought of often. Not since his first visit to the Invess Forest. Kaito turned, searching for it.

"Takatsukasa?" From down the pier, all dressed in white and with...with _blonde_ hair: It certainly _looked _like the foolishly happy Gaim girl, but it didn't at the same time. It couldn't be her, Kaito thought. (This girl looked much too cold.) And yet, she was still walking towards him.

_Retreat_, he saw her mouth say. As far away as she was, her ghostly voice rang like crystals in his ears_, For these actions you take shall forever change your future. You will walk a new path and find no hope of ever returning._

Kaito stared at her from behind his visor. She was now not but a few steps away from him and he could see a blue and red eye staring into him. _"_Take heed in your choices." Everything clicked together (and Kaito didn't know if he actually liked that.) Multiple things clashed together in his mind and for the moment he was frozen.

Kaito had a split second to respond as an Invess turned around and slashed at him. He brought up his spear, pushing the Invess back while spluttering a few steps himself. The adults had apparently run away in fear and with nobody else there the monsters turned on their masters. At his left, one tried to give him a rib shot that he was only lucky enough to move down to his hip. The third one grabbed at his spear, trying to rip it out of his hands.

The three seemed to completely ignore the mysterious doppelganger – like she wasn't even there. All the time, she continued to stare at him – into him.

But he couldn't stare back – couldn't continue to think of the paradox she just seemed to embody. Kaito wrenched his spear back to him and swung it over his head. In one swipe, he injured all three across the chest. While two of them stumbled back, one well placed kick had the third creature barreling back onto the stage. Baron quickly scattered – they weren't idiots. None of them wanted to be touched by the Invess. As the Invess stood, the first thing its simply muddled mind saw was a plethora of new targets. Each member tried their best to run away, dodging in ways that were it not so terrifying, could be construed as hilarious.

One wrong move – tripping over his own feet – caused Peco to fall – and fall wrongly. Kaito turned his head to see Peco lying against the ground, cradling his arm to his chest. (The perfect target.) The Invess jumped to corner him against a speaker and roared in his face.

"Peco!" Kaito pushed the Invess on him away, giving it a square kick in the chest for good measures. He ran up the steps two at a time, slashing at the monster and sending it down the steps. Kaito clicked the lock three times till the attack was ready. _Banana Au Lait!_ He raised the Banaspear. A great beam of energy took the shape of a banana and mimicked the movement of his weapon, cutting through each of the Invess and destroying them in one fell swoop.

Kaito closed up the Lock Seed and deposited it into his pocket, letting his henshin fall away. He pivoted on his heel and kneeled beside his teammate. A ginger hand touched his arm and Peco cried out in pain. The other members had begun to crowd to see how bad it was when Zack pushed through. He gave his leader a passing glance before wrapping an arm around Peco's middle, hoisting him up and helping him off the stage. Kaito stood quickly, pushing the other members back to clear a path.

The mysterious girl was still standing there.

The other Baron members followed after Zack, saying a mumble of 'Can we help?' Kaito took his time down each step, feeling his ankle flex and relax with each footfall. He stared back in the mysterious girl's eyes and ignored the shivers it sent up into his back. His eyes traveled down to the pearl necklace across her as it abruptly began to glow. A sunbeam, it was like, that spiraled out and encased her body. Suddenly, her hair darkened to a raven black and parted into pigtails. She was wearing a bright white t-shirt with a blue hoodie tied around her waist – the mysterious girl had transformed into (or back into) Mai.

Her eyes – the cold mismatched eyes – were closed now, the only signal he had that she was about to collapse right before she did. Luckily, as he kneeled to the ground, he caught her just in time. Her head lolled back in the crook of his arm, with the rest of her body nestling into his. How limp she felt in his arms, she must have been absolutely exhausted.

_I watched the priestess dance for the tree at the festival. And I dreamed of the day I'd be able to dance for everyone like she did._

That...that bright smile on her face, adoration for her memories – it was like that other personality had erased that in one fell swoop.

Well, no use letting her lay here. If he returned her to Gaim, surely they would think something had happened and he wasn't stupid enough to have two lover-riders on his back and he didn't know where she lived. Kaito tucked Mai against his chest, sliding his arms under her knees and hoisting her up. He lagged behind a bit, but Kaito followed Baron back to their headquarters.


	2. Chapter 2

Kaito stared on as Mai slept in his bed – oh, he hoped she was sleeping or he was screwed beyond all measures. It was strange, her with her bright colors and GAIM hoodie, 'sleeping' in his room, which was bland as bland could be. He bought the headquarters for Baron and didn't need very much for his own quarters. The only splash of color came from deep red curtains he'd ordered, very thick so there was barely any light to be let in. Just enough to see by. It was a strange contrast to see.

His mind, while his eyes looked over that mulled over what he _had_ seen. What (Who) had that been? A spirit, possession, the faux leader? The manifestation of a split personality? Or was this her fate as the daughter of a priest? Was..._that_, what she was to turn into? The questions battled one another inside his brain and Kaito did not enjoy it. He ruffled at his hair to try and ease his frustration; the anger only rose in him further.

What was it about this girl that let her complicate his life? How was she able to make him act outside his calm normal? Maybe it was the fact that she was the only native of Zawame City (far as he knew). Unconsciously, he was letting her have her way. And it annoyed him to no end. He was Kaito Kumon, the leader of Baron the (ex-) top rating Dance Team. Even more, he was a Rider. Mai was just the annoyingly, nosy, loud member (not even the leader, just a member.) She _wasn't_ important.

It was helpful, when long ago, Kaito learned that he could shut off his brain with motion. Kaito shot up, pacing about his room in a roundabout way to a tall dresser, tucked away in a corner. He actually had to stoop down to the bottom drawer. Pulling it out, he shuffled through his clothes and past what nonsense he had thrown in (notebooks, CDs, things he didn't want Baron to see) to a small wooden box, dusty with age. Kaito finaggled it out. The heavy weight in his hands made him exhale long and hard. Kaito hadn't looked at this since Yggrdrasil had closed the shrine and his hatred of the big company had been cemented in his heart. The hinge creaked as he lifted the lid. There were a few photos of a smiling, younger him staring back; Kaito forced himself to ignore them. His hand grabbed what he was looking for. The process of closing the box and hiding it back in the drawer was much quicker this time as Kaito pushed down sentimental memories.

It was an old bracelet he'd bought, once upon a time. Kaito remembers being so excited – he'd watered his neighbor's plants for weeks to earn enough money, basically running to the shrine and thrusting the money at the intern with a grand smile.

He'd been a child when he bought, so he couldn't wear it anymore. But females on average had more slender wrists, so maybe...Kaito trudged back to Mai's side. He gripped her wrist firmly and slipped the bracelet over – perfect fit.

Perfect timing – Mai gave a sharp breathe in, her chest rising as oxygen filled her tiny form. Her eyes fluttered open and blinked a few times. The darkness of the room had her baffled, so she sat up to learn more. "Kaito?" Of course, that's the first thing she noticed.

Any – _any_ – other person and Kaito would've glared at them till autonomy forced them to look away. _This girl is a witch_. Kaito grumbled in his head as it lowered to stare at his hands in his lap. "What do you remember happening?"

Mai pouted, furrowing her brows. "I...I was walking, wasn't I? Walking home from GAIM...I...I..."

"You came to the South Stage." Kaito looked up. He fixed his gaze on her.

"South...Raid Wild's stage?" Mai's pout pushed out further. Kaito felt an inkling urge to say it was _Baron's_ stage now. "No way...why would I be there? That's the complete opposite...what am I doing here?"

Kaito sighed. In the movement of leaning back and crossing his legs, he hypothesized that the blond girl and Mai really were two different people. Chances were she'd been experiencing boughts of amnesia and couldn't be held to the actions of the blond. "The hype about the Invess have turned against the Beat Riders. You'd better warn Ryugen and Gaim. Gaim's probably being harassed right now."

"Eh?" Her eyes widened, surely with a thousand horrible thoughts going on behind them. "I have to go!" Her jacket, which had been used as a blanket across her legs, was swept up in her hand and she swung her legs over the edge.

Soon as her feet hit the ground, the earth shifted. Mai stood wobbly for a moment, trying to straighten out. Another step and she misjudged how far the ground was from her. She faltered and fell to the ground. Kaito grabbed her at the last second; it didn't do much good to stop her, but it slowed the fall so it wouldn't hurt so much.

"Idiot, you've wasted a lot of energy. And now you're just gonna go and run off?" Kaito chided, moving the child back to his bed.

"What did I do?" Mai looked up at him with those brighteyes.

"There was a fight – you got caught up in it like a fool." Well...it was _almost_ the truth.

"Oh..." Her face fell, looking down. In her head, she noticed Kaito's hands still on her arms. This was all in her head, though – she wouldn't point it out. "Thank you...for helping me." She smiled up at him.

Kaito grumbled. Like he was electrified, his hands fell to his side in a jump. "Well...I wasn't about to let your goonies harass me for something I didn't do." Mai was still smiling and Kaito looked away in annoyance.

"Come on..." He said after the longest pause.

"Hm?"

"You're not staying here. And if I just let you go on your own, you're going to pass out on my doorstep." Kaito rolled his eyes.

God, he shouldn't have said that – the girl was _still_ smiling. It annoyed him so much.

Mai (much slower this time) slid off his bed and slowly straightened to her full height. Her head began to throb. Without hesitance, she grabbed at Kaito's sleeve and held it in a vice grip till she could balance herself out.

When she hadn't made a move out the door (or to let go), Kaito internalized a groan. He ripped her hand off of him, holding it inside of his and dragging her beind him. She faltered for the first few steps, but caught up quick enough.


End file.
